Don't Think, Just Breathe
by dizzyizzy123
Summary: Danny agrees to teach Ava meditation techniques but gets a lot more than he bargained for. Danny/Ava one shot.


A/N: Here is my attempt at a Ava/Danny one shot. I am currently working on Luke/Ava and Sam/Ava one shots as well. Read and review!

* * *

_To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.__  
__**-Mahatma Gandhi**__  
_

Because of his pacifist nature and tendency to quote from Buddhist texts, Danny was considered to be the wisest one of the group, even if at times he felt no more enlightened than anyone else.

So Danny wasn't surprised when Ava asked him to teach her yoga and meditation; it was nice to have someone on the team actually appreciate his techniques instead of dismissing them as "fortune cookie mumbo jumbo", as Peter liked to refer them to.

"Why me? Why not take a class somewhere?" he asked Ava, who shrugged.

"I don't know. You're like, the wisest guy I know."

"I don't know I'm there yet. 'I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done'—"

Ava put up her hand to keep him from talking. "Save it for our session, please."

He found a clear space for them to work in and found two yoga mats for both of them. Ava was nervous, but eager to please, just like she always was when they learned something new.

"Okay, we're first going to start with some breathing techniques," he told her. Ava frowned.

"Isn't breathing just 'inhale and exhale'?" she asked.

"When you meditate, you need to control your breathing so you can focus more. Close your eyes and just do what I tell you."

"Nothing good can come from those words," grumbled Ava and Danny laughed. She cracked a small smile but did what he told her.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

"Stop," ordered Danny. Ava opened her eyes, annoyed.

"Don't tell me I was _breathing _wrong."

"Well, you were," said Danny. Ava sighed.

"Look, Ava, You're not going to get anywhere by being impatient. 'Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.' Lao Tzu said that."

Ava exhaled. "Okay, I'll try again."

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

"Stop."

Ava opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "What is it now?" she asked, trying to be patient.

Danny got up and sat down behind Ava. "Ava, you are so tense. Seriously, your shoulders are so hunched up. Do you not feel that?'

"I don't know what you're—Ow! Okay, that actually feels nice," conceded Ava as Danny began to rub her shoulders.

"Keep breathing. Try to clear your mind. Don't think, just breathe."

Ava tried again.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

"Are you clearing your mind?" asked Danny.

"Uh-huh," Ava lied. She tried to clear her mind but she kept thinking about all the things she needed to get done, all the screw ups she had made, and how nice Danny's warm hands felt on her shoulders.

"Liar. Feel these knots? They're caused by stress and pent up emotions. What's going on, Ava?"

"Danny, can't we just do more breathing and then do like, downward dog or something?"

"_Ava_."

Ava was quiet for a moment. Danny leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Just breathe. Just relax. Just trust me. Tell me what's going on. Why did you ask me to do this with you?"

Ava was still quiet so Danny continued to rub her shoulders. Then she took a breath and said, "Because...I just have a lot of pressure to be the best White Tiger I can be and I just get so frustrated that I'm not performing at the level I should be performing at."

"Who's telling you you're not performing at the right level?"

"Myself," admitted Ava. "No one understands. This is different from being a regular legacy hero. Two of my family members have carried the White Tiger name and every time I fail, I feel like I'm letting them down and I just can't take that—"

Ava let out a choked sob and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. Danny switched his position to face her.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't cry," he told her. "Don't think like that, Ava. No one thinks you're a failure."

"I know, I just…I don't even know why I'm crying. God, this is stupid. I'm sorry."

"No, it's not stupid," said Danny. "I know how that feels."

"Seriously?"

"I'm not perfect either, you know," he said. "I get it. You want to be the best and when you can't—"

"It just—"

"Sucks," they said at the same time. Ava smiled and wiped her tears.

"I'm sorry for ruining our session," she said.

"No, it's okay. It was very…enlightening."

"And here I thought you already were," said Ava.

"I'm not even halfway there," admitted Danny.

Ava smiled. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who doesn't have it all figured out."

"I thought you had it figured it out!"

"I think Parker's the only one who's not mess."

"That's probably because he doesn't know he has to figure anything out. Yet."

They smiled at each other but then Ava suddenly looked sad again so Danny took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, murmuring, "It's okay. Just breathe. Just breathe, Ava. It's okay."

Then he kissed both her cheeks, right where her tears trailed down her cheek and then finally, he kissed her mouth.

To his surprise, Ava kissed him back hungrily and even gently pushed him onto his back. Danny wasn't protesting exactly but he was sure what he and Ava were about to do wasn't going to be for the right reasons.

"Ava, don't you think—" he tried.

"Don't think, just breathe," she reminded softly as she kissed him once again. Danny knew that there were pleasures in worldly desires, but to be without desires was more pleasurable still, as the Buddhist teacher and philosopher Nagarjuna once said. Then again, Charles Dickens once said, "A loving heart is the truest wisdom".

And he felt very wise indeed right now.


End file.
